Left Brain/Right Brain

Okay, I confess...I'm not in my right mind. At least, that's the joke that we who are left-brained must deal with from you artsy, right-brained types. (By the way, if the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body, why are the vast majority of people right-handed? Even the artsy types. It seems like there would be a balance.) Anyway, I am left-brained, which means I am more intellectually- and analytically-inclined than my more emotional and artistic right-brained friends. I am also a guy, so I don't necessarily do deep, intimate relationships really well. Which all brings me to this question: How can I develop a deep, intimate, personal relationship with God?

I grew up in The Church, so I know the textbook answers to that - spend time in The Word, do my Quiet Time every day, memorize Scripture, pray a lot (after all, it's just talking to God). That's all well and good, but at some point it all just seems rather academic. I love to study the Bible; I am inspired by the intellectual pursuit of God. But, like the apostle Paul wrote, I want to know Christ. (Philippians 3:10) I want to really know him - not just know about him. A number of years ago a friend gave me a German saying that I wrote in my Bible: Nur weisst du von Gott, oder kennst du ihm, auch? (Do you only know of God, or do you know him, too?) In English, we use the same word, know. German has two different words to differentiate between an intellectual recognition (wissen) and a personal relationship (kennen).

I want to know Christ, and the power of his resurrection, and the
fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death; and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:10-11, NIV)